Chương 38: Chapter 27:"Yu Explains Everything"

Starting with that declaration, I told them everything in detail. Alice, Milia, and Argus listened intently, occasionally expressing surprise but never laughing it off as a lie. I think the fact that they trusted me as a friend was a big reason they listened properly. But showing them that unbelievable transformation first probably laid the groundwork for them to think that even a crazy story might be true. What the world I originally lived in was like. How I came to this world.

The existence called FabL, its abilities, and the fate of crossing stars. About Will and Ena. How I was assaulted by Will when I first became a woman, and how I was traumatized by him because he continued to target me. How I had to leave Earth with my clothes torn by him, was thrown alone into the middle of the Lasir Plains, and wandered aimlessly for days. I told them these things in order.

"So that was it... That's why you were collapsed alone in a place like that, in such a terrible state." I nodded silently to Alice, who looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

"Yeah. I was prepared to die back then. I was really saved because you came, Alice."

"You've been through quite a harrowing experience."

"It was a far more tremendous story than I imagined. That man named Will is unforgivable." Argus and Milia also looked at me with sympathy.

"Right. It's a bit hard to believe at first. But I'm convinced. Because it all adds up. No wonder Yu didn't have any common sense of this world. If you weren't from here originally, it's only natural." Argus followed Alice, who seemed to have connected the dots.

"I heard somewhere that you got zero points in history on the entrance exam, but well, there's no way you could have scored any."

"Making a mistake with the Simming gesture... it makes sense that you'd do something impossible like that."

"Simming is this?" I made the pose of extending the index and middle fingers of my right hand.

"That's right. It's the first time I've seen someone who genuinely didn't know it." Milia sighed, slightly exasperated.

"So this is called Simming. I didn't understand it well, so I always called it 'Fist-Finger.' I was just copying what I saw."

"It was quite awkward, wasn't it?"

"Ahaha... On Earth, there's something similar called a handshake where you use your whole hand. There's no distinction between right and left hands there, and it doesn't have a meaning like a marriage proposal."

"Heeh. So Yu really came from a different world. But you don't look any different at all."

"That is strange. I imagined something more like... an alien!"

"What is an'alien' (Uchuu-jin)?" Milia tilted her head, not understanding the word.

"Ah, right. You can see stars from the ground, but unless someone has gone to space, you wouldn't know what it's like, so that concept doesn't exist."

"First time hearing it."

"Yees. Me too."

"Roughly speaking, it's a place you reach if you go even higher than the sky of this planet. It's endlessly vast, pitch black, and terrifyingly cold."

"Is that what's beyond the sky?"

"Yeah."

"That sounds like a pretty interesting story! Tell me more details later." Argus bit into the topic with great interest. He had a weakness for new things like this or things he didn't know.

"Sure, but later."

"Promise."

"Yeah, yeah." At that moment, Sensei, who had been listening silently, told us something surprising.

"Come to think of it, I heard from my master once. That FabLs are basically designed to only jump to worlds where similar species live. A world survivable for each FabL is automatically chosen. That's probably why. Why you and we are almost the same." What!? If you knew something that important, please tell me sooner, Sensei! Isn't that the best news ever!

"Does that mean there's no chance I'll die from a toxic atmosphere immediately after arriving in a new world!?"

"Who knows. I'm not a FabL myself. But judging by my master's tone, it seemed unlikely." Thank god. If the chosen planet was completely random, eventually I would definitely encounter a situation where survival was impossible. I was secretly afraid of that since it was easy to imagine, but knowing the probability is low is grateful information. Instant death by suffocation or poison is absolutely something I want to avoid. Moreover, if it's a similar species, the probability of meeting humans in the future is high.

I might have seen a little hope for the journey ahead.

"Hey." Called out, I turned around to find Alice making a very sad face.

"Yu... Will you disappear from this world someday, after all?" At those words, my heart ached sharply. I hadn't clearly conveyed that in the story so far. I just said I drifted to this world. But since I mentioned crossing stars and new worlds earlier, it seemed she figured it out. I admitted it honestly. Because I couldn't bend the facts.

"I think so. The time will surely come when I have to leave this world and head to the next. I don't know when that will be, though." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"I hate it. Yu disappearing." Alice looked like she was about to cry. It was painful to see her like that. I felt the same way.

"I hate it too. I don't want to leave everyone. I want to stay here forever if possible." But... I looked down with a feeling of resignation.

"But, it's impossible. That is fate... It can't be helped." Alice closed in on me and squeezed my hand tightly. Startled, I looked up to find her face filled not only with sadness but also indignation.

"Fate!? I don't accept something like that! Isn't there any way!? Stopping the transfer, or making it so you can come here! Let's look for it together!" Of course, I thought about that too. I thought about it many times, even dreamed about it. Isn't there any way to defy this fate? But the reality thrust upon me was... too harsh.

"FabLs are all people far more amazing than me. Even they had to give up in the end. As far as I know, everyone did. Which means... probably, it's impossible."

"No way...!"

"Hey, let's stop the gloomy talk." Argus, perhaps unable to watch me and Alice grieving, interrupted.

"True, honestly, I'm shocked too. But partings come eventually anyway, right? Sooner or later. It's no use moping about it. If you have time for that, enjoy the present."

"You're right... That's true." If fate won't change even if I cry or scream. Rather than being trapped by it and looking backward forever, how to spend the present. I should direct my interest there. Just as he said. Just as Thomas is doing. Although I don't have the strength to accept it like that yet.

"Indeed. Let's make lots of memories with us. So that we're ready whenever that time comes." Milia, who had a sad face together with us, dared to say so with a smile. Seeing her like that, Alice, who was depressed, seemed to finally recover.

"Right... Yu, we'll be together from now on too, okay?" Since the two were acting strong, I couldn't keep lingering. Thinking so, I looked up too.

"Yeah. Of course."

"Now, let's get back to the story. I'm curious about the rest."

"Ah." Regaining my composure, I talked about things since meeting Alice. When measuring Magic Power, the male body had absolutely no Magic Power. On the other hand, this female body had a Magic Power value of ten thousand, as known.

"So if I was going to attend school, I had no choice but to attend as a girl. Because only this body can use magic."

"I see. I understand the reason for living as a girl well. However..." When Milia said that much, Alice continued while nodding.

"Right. Why did you, who didn't know even the 'M' of magic in the first place, think of enrolling and learning magic? I don't understand that part." It was a reasonable question. I answered.

"One reason is to acquire the power to live in a different world. I grew up comfortably without any major conflicts, so I really had no power. If I didn't attend school and was thrown into the town penniless, I don't think I could have survived on my own."

"True. The Yu from back then looked like she would cry from hunger if left alone for even a day."

"Yeah. So thinking realistically, I had no choice but to enroll. Besides, I might go to a harsher world in the future. I thought I couldn't make it if I remained weak."

"I see. I understood the part about the power to live well." However, Alice pointed her finger at me with a face that said she still couldn't be convinced.

"But, the explanation is still insufficient! That doesn't connect as the reason why you desperately trained magic with such a painful look on your face."

"You're right..."

"Yes. Because if the goal was simply to live, you achieved it long ago! With your magic skills, you should be able to get by anywhere now."

"You tackling magic until you collapsed was honestly abnormal." That's right. I piled up bloody training and became able to use magic enough to surprise Argus, who is called a genius, in just seven months. Certainly, it might have been an excessive effort for the goal of acquiring the power to live. Why did I seek power as if being chased to this extent? I tried not to be conscious of it until now, but... Pointed out by the two. Supported by everyone. I finally made the resolve to look at the real reason.

"You're right. There's one more. A reason I haven't mentioned until now." I closed my eyes for a moment and sorted out my feelings. Then I opened my eyes and began to speak.

"In the end, I was afraid of Will."

"I see..."

"That is... understandable..."

"I think a large part of it was seeking even a little power to somehow escape from him. But..." Just remembering it makes me tremble again. I realize anew the magnitude of the trauma carved into my heart. But, let's admit it. Let's move forward. I have everyone here to help me.

"But because I didn't want to think about him. Because I didn't want to admit such an escapist reason. I forcefully suppressed this feeling. Surely, trying not to think about it like that ended up catching Alice and Milia's attention instead." Being able to admit this feeling for the first time was largely due to hearing about him from Thomas. His unknown nature decreased somewhat, and seeing even a glimpse of the background for targeting me, I finally became able to see him a little as a person.

Although I'm still scared enough to shrink back.

"Finally, everything makes sense. Yu, it was painful, wasn't it..."

"It really was painful, wasn't it..." My chest grew hot at the words of the two caring for my circumstances. No longer acting tough, I nodded honestly.

"Yeah. It was painful. I finally managed to talk about it." The feelings that were somewhat tense unraveled smoothly. There are people I can talk to about everything without hesitation. Does just that make me feel this much lighter? Argus, who had been listening intently, bowed his head awkwardly.

"You didn't enter the girls' dorm to have a harem, huh... My bad. For calling you a pervert."

"No, it's unavoidable to think so. Factually, I can't deny it."

"Well, regarding that matter, it might be unavoidable. After hearing such a story, I don't feel like blaming you."

"I was thinking of delivering an iron fist punishment, but I'll stop."

"Haha... Thanks." Seeing Milia make a small fist then open it and giggle, I smiled wryly. It felt like the usual atmosphere returned, and I was relieved. But various circumstances are just my own convenience. Should I take responsibility?

"But I... what should I do from now on? As expected, I probably can't stay in the girls' dorm anymore." But both Alice and Milia had faces that didn't seem to get the point. Eh? Isn't that what we're talking about? Does it mean I should be punished more severely? Certainly, that might be so... While I was fidgeting with reflection and confusion, Alice puffed out her chest and made a pose saying 'leave it to me'.

"You can stay as before. I'll support you perfectly so there's as little problem as possible for other girls too!" It was unexpected. Because I didn't think Alice, the primary victim, would say something like that so lightly.

"But. Alice, wouldn't you not want to be in the same room with me, knowing I was originally a man?"

"I don't mind. It's not like you yourself changed. Besides, isn't it too late for that?" Alice spread her arms with her specialty teasing smile.

"Since you've already exposed absolutely everything to you."

"I'm sorry!" I bent my head at a right angle and apologized with all my might. There was nothing else I could do.

"Very well."

"Fufufu." Huh. Even Milia is laughing.

"Besides. Since we've been living together for a long time, I can tell. Although the tone is mostly the same between man and woman, and the atmosphere is identical, it is different."

"Is, is that so?"

"It is. Male you is a proper man, and female you is properly a girl in both body and mind. Seeing various reactions and small gestures and thoughts, I think so." Looking at my body as if to confirm something anew. Alice nodded once and smiled brightly.

"So, no problem. I'll continue to hang out with you unchanged. You were anxious about that, right?"

"She said mostly what I wanted to say. I feel the same way." The two promised to continue hanging out with me unchanged, even like this. With an appearance that didn't let me feel even a speck of a lie. From the bottom of their hearts, they accepted me.... I see. I see... The fear and anxiety I had been holding for so long melted away. Emotions mixed with relief and happiness welled up all at once. I choked on my words.

"Thank you... Really... I, I mean, I've always been in this... kind of body..." I cursed meeting the two with such a half-baked body. If I had met them as a man from the beginning. We probably wouldn't have become this close, but I wouldn't have worried this much either. If I were a normal girl. How many times did I think that? Every time I touched Alice and Milia, my heart ached terribly.

"I thought... if I told the truth, you wouldn't accept me... I thought Alice and Milia would leave... I was always, always anxious..." To my words that became intermittent, the two nodded warmly. From my eyes, drop by drop. Tears spilled down.

"But... Alice, and Milia... about me..." Unable to continue words any further, I wailed. As if to wash away the pus accumulated in my heart, I sobbed violently.

"She cried."

"She must have been incredibly relieved."

"Heh..."

"Good for you. Yu." The two stayed close to me and continued to stroke my head gently until my tears ran dry.